In this lecture, we will start with what we already know about the Caribbean – as inhabitants of the region, members of the diaspora, travellers, tourists and historians. From this, we will build up an overview of the key themes and significant moments in the region’s history. This will mean engaging with perceptions, tacit understandings, and even fantasies – as well as historical ‘facts’ – as these have often played an important role in shaping realities on the ground.

Reading list

Higman, Barry W., A Concise History of the Caribbean (Cambridge, 2011), chapter 1.

Knight, Franklin W. and Colin Palmer, ‘A Regional Overview’, in Franklin W. Knight and Colin Palmer (eds), The Modern Caribbean (Chapel Hill, 1989), pp. 1-19.

Lowenthal, David, West Indian Societies (Oxford, 1972), pp. 1-75.

Mintz, Sidney W., Three Ancient Colonies: Caribbean Themes and Variations (London, 2010), chapter 1, pp. 1-43.

Palmié, Stephan and Francisco A. Scarano (eds), The Caribbean: A History of the Region and its Peoples (Chicago, 2011), pp. 1-21.

Randall, S. J., ‘The historical context’ in R. S. Hillman and T. J. D’Agostino (eds), Understanding the Contemporary Caribbean (London, 2003), pp. 51-83.

Scott, Cleve McD., ‘Unity in Diversity?: A History of the Pan-Caribbean Region from 1492 to the 1970s’ in Tracy Skelton, Tracy (ed.), Introduction to the Pan-Caribbean (London, 2004), pp. 14-41.